| Discover Wing Chun Footwork - Not Really | | | | has heard about many different stances. but |
| Chinese Dancing! | | | | unless youre working in front of a mirror, youll do |
| How's the new dance move youre trying, Yoshi? | | | | the easiest stance you can get away with |
| I hear that all the time. Even from people who | | | | without your sparring partner kicking you |
| really should know better. You probably do too, | | | | repeatedly. What's interesting about Wing Chun is |
| especially if you do footwork for Wing Chun. Wing | | | | that the form drills (San Sik is what theyre called) |
| Chun, or Chinese Dancing is a soft style with a | | | | REALLY emphasize flowing motions. Let me tell |
| strong philosophical disposition to it. Originally, the | | | | you, doing it right you'll definitely sweat. The |
| name came from the ideograms for Ever Spring, | | | | muscles in your quads and hamstrings will be |
| and it is fitting. I was bored of walking with | | | | burning but, is the end result worth it! The forms |
| bruises and pulled muscles, and I needed to | | | | become second nature, as if theyre learned by |
| change to a gentleer style while I was recovering. | | | | your hips and knees, and you will just do them |
| I admire Kung Fu styles, so learning Wing Chun | | | | once the pain has dissipated. |
| was so simple. Only without as much falling, or as | | | | Of course, everyone will be talking about your |
| many punches to the sternum as most King Fu | | | | new dance steps, but Wing Chun footwork will |
| styles. Though the joint locks did remind me I | | | | pay for itself nicely. Since applying it, Ive been |
| was practicing a real martial art. (One piece of | | | | much more conscious of how my bent knees |
| advice anyone who says Hey, let me show you a | | | | increase my reach with punches and elbow |
| joint lock! is a maniac. Just say no. Trust me.) In a | | | | strikes, and its been much more difficult to take |
| few ways, Wing Chun is like the early forms | | | | me to the mat in Jiu Jitsu. The parts Ive had to |
| exercises you practice in Kung Fu, only carried to | | | | compensate for from the footwork, Ive learned |
| their logical extreme, instead of being used as the | | | | have been in mobility. Its possible to plant too |
| fundamentals for a hard style. | | | | hard which makes it tempting to break your |
| What attracted me to Wing Chun, aside from the | | | | stance to give pursuit. Particularly when youre |
| sprained wrist on my dominant punching hand, | | | | flowing from a down block and trying to transition |
| was the flowing foot movements that its | | | | into a kick - it's at that point, the Wing Chun |
| practitioners had. Well, I'll be honest. It was the | | | | footwork has to skip a beat while you switch |
| flowing footwork that I saw in Jet Lis films, while | | | | back to a harder Kung Fu kick. |
| waiting for my cast to come off. Even so, just | | | | Either way, Im glad I took the time to learn this. |
| from watching the films, I could see definite uses | | | | Its given me a good base to work with, and a |
| for Wing Chun footwork in my repertoire of | | | | few more surprises to throw into sparring |
| techniques once my wrist healed. Wing Chun | | | | matches. Particularly fun is when someone makes |
| footwork has a focus on balance more so than | | | | fun of the dance steps and then comes up to me |
| with a strong kicking style, which can leave you | | | | and says "Yoshi, how did you do that?. |
| dangerously vulnerable trying for a circle kick. | | | | Yoshi Kundagawa is a freelance journalist. He |
| In particular, the footwork demands that you be | | | | covers themixed martial arts industry. For a free |
| in a low stance, but not so low that your mobility | | | | report on Wing Chun Dummy - Stand Onlyvisit his |
| gets hampered. Everybody who does martial arts | | | | blog. |